Gram Panchayat Morak Goan vs State Of Rajasthan And Ors

The petitioner, who is the Gram Panchayat, Morak Goan, has preferred this writ petition seeking establishment of an English Medium School at Morak Goan and prays that the Government Girls Upper Primary School, Morak Goan, may be established as Mahatma Gandhi Government School English Medium in terms of the Scheme introduced by the State Government for establishment of 167 Mahatma Gandhi Government Schools English Medium and further prays for setting aside the order dated 8.6.2020 whereby the State Government has decided to establish the English Medium School at Government Girls Senior Secondary School, Khairabad.

Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that a proposal was submitted by the Gram Panchayat for opening English Medium School at Morak Goan and in this regard, a Local MLA had also made recommendations for establishment of the School at Morak Goan. Learned counsel further submits that as per the norms laid down by the Director, Secondary Education, Bikaner, dated 8.1.2020, the school at Morak Goan ought to have been given the status of English Medium School as Mahatma Gandhi Government School English Medium. Learned counsel also submits that there was only one proposal in the entire block and therefore, there was no occasion to start the school at Khairabad instead of Morak Goan. Learned counsel submits that the action of the respondents is wholly arbitrary and would cause loss to the students of Morak Goan, which is thickly populated area and there is only one English Medium School, which is running by a private organization. Thus, taking into consideration aforesaid aspect, the school ought to have been established at Morak Goan instead of Khairabad.

Leaned counsel further submits that the local persons at Khairabad has also opposed the establishment of English Medium School at Khairabad and the petitioner has placed the documents on record in support thereof by filing an additional affidavit. Learned counsel has taken this Court to the letter sent by the Managing Committee of the School whereby the said Committee has opposed the establishment of English Medium School at Khairabad. Learned counsel thus submits that this Court ought to intervene and direct the respondent-State to establish the English Medium School at Morak Goan.

Per contra; learned Additional Advocate General has pointed out that as per the Scheme floated for 167 Mahatma Gandhi Government Schools English Medium, the school was to be established at the block headquarters. Learned counsel has taken this Court to the order issued by the Director, Secondary Education, Bikaner, dated 31.11.2019 in this respect. Learned counsel submits that it is only in the event where the block headquarters and district headquarters are same, that the school may be established in any other big village as per the letter dated 8.1.2020. Keeping in view that the block headquarters are at Khairabad while district headquarters are at Kota, the school was required to be established at Khairabad alone.

Learned counsel has further pointed out that there are two government schools at Khairabad and on the establishment of English Medium School, the students, who want to continue in Hindi Medium, can be transferred to other school at the block headquarters and therefore, the Committee has taken a decision to establish the school at Khairabad alone. Learned counsel has further pointed out that the present school where the Government has decided to convert in English Medium is a school of the level of higher secondary whereas the school for which the petitioner is claiming is only upto Middle Class alone and the Scheme only allows English Medium School to be established where the classes are being run from Class-1 to 12 and Class-1 to 10. Thus, the claim of the petitioner is not made out.

I have considered the submissions as above and perused the material available on record.

While this Court is of the firm view that the question regarding establishment of a particular school of a particular medium, namely, Hindi or English is a policy decision, which is to be taken at the level of the State Government alone. The said decision can only be examined, if the allegations of arbitrariness and malafide are levelled.

Keeping in view the above, if the claim of the petitioner is examined, this Court finds that having regard to the statement made by the learned Additional Advocate General, as noticed above, no arbitrariness and malafide can be said to have been committed in taking a decision of establishing the School at Khairabad. There is no malafide attached as there is no such allegation in the writ petition. This Court is also of the view that if the school of the level of Senior Secondary is converted to English Medium, more number of students would be benefited and therefore, even otherwise, the decision of the State Government is unquestionable and does not warrant any interference by this Court. The writ petition is wholly misconceived and the same is accordingly dismissed.

No costs.